Phone number is a highly important and personal information for any individual. In this world dominated by technology, phones, especially cell phones play an important role in communication. Nowadays, a cell phone is capable of doing much more than simply calling and sending messages. They have also become important mediums of entertainment. However, the most essential thing here is the number of our cell phones. It has become a highly sensitive factor nowadays. Our phone numbers are linked to our bank accounts and other sensitive areas. Therefore, it is very important to see that these numbers remain out of the wrong hands.
A general tendency among us is that we rarely change our phone numbers. In most cases, we have seen that many of us carry the same digits for years. Even when we change our phones, we port the same digits of our earlier phones to the new ones. In fact, the network operators also make this process easy for us. However, this may not be the wisest decision in today’s world. The number of spammers has increased drastically over the years. In fact, we receive loads of spam calls and messages every day. Moreover, the cases of online fraud are also seeing a sharp rise. Therefore, there are reasons enough for changing the digits assigned to our phones, once in a while. Read the document to know more about the reasons for changing the digits of your phone from time to time.
Spam Calls And Messages
Nowadays, spam calls are flooding our phones. Every day, spammers from around the call make loads of phone calls to various users and these calls are mostly very annoying. You must have seen that your Android or iPhone warns you about some of the incoming calls that are from spammers. In fact, there are some applications that help detect spam calls. These spam calls generally come from any random location. Moreover, be sure that the spammers have no real intention of talking to you.
Apart from the spam calls, spam messages create a lot of nuisance. Every day, we receive lots of spam messages about various issues like car warranties, and bank loans, including phishing attempts. Some of these messages also contain PDFs which should never be opened. These spam messages may come both from phone numbers and email ids. It is true that we can report spam calls and messages. However, this will never be enough to fight them off. It is here that changing your phone number from time to time might come to help. Though it will not be able to stop the spammers altogether, it will definitely help you receive lesser spam calls and messages.
There Is A Risk Of Your Phone Number Getting Stolen
In this world dominated by technologies, almost nothing seems impossible. In fact, if you think that the spammers are illiterates, then that is the furthest from the truth. These spammers are highly skilled in matters of technology and can steal the digits assigned to your phone at any point in time. There are many ways to do that. In some cases, the companies and organisations that you trust might simply sell your phone number, along with certain other personal information to the spammers. Moreover, much of our personal information is up on the internet, much to our ignorance. Therefore, the spammers can get hold of that information from a background check service. In addition, due to data leaks, your information might reach the spammers.
Irrespective of how they get hold of your phone number, the simple truth is that they have it with them. Therefore, the longer you keep the same digits, the greater the chance of your number making it to multiple mass-spam lists. Thus, if you keep changing your phone number from time to time, the risk decreases. It is obvious that the spammers will find your number. But that will take time.
Changing Phone Number Is Cheap and Easy
We generally tend to think that changing our phone numbers is a difficult job. We consider that in order to do that, we have to deal with the carrier and also we have to update the contact list. Therefore, we see the process as extensive and time taking. However, contrary to this popular belief, changing the digits of your phone is a hassle-free job that can be done online, spending much less than you might have thought.
For instance, if you are a Verizon customer, through the My Verizon app you can avail of this service free of charge. Again, AT&T offers this service free of cost for its customers. T-Mobile has a feature called Scam Shield. This feature allows its customers to change their numbers once every year. Therefore, you can understand that changing your phone number is really a hassle-free job.
Another thing that we consider before changing the digits of our phone, is that it will be a big social hassle. Every time, we change the numbers, we think that we have to re-update our contact list. However, that really is not a great problem. In fact, we really do not need to update each and everyone of our contact. Moreover, there are som many ways of communication at present. There are various social media platforms and email services. Therefore, if someone fails to connect with you, then he/she might reach you via other platforms. Thus, changing your phone number will not cause any social issues for you.
Conclusion
Hopefully, it has become clear that there is a need to change your phone number from time to time and that it is never a problematic issue. Now, the concern is to keep your new number safe from spammers. The simplest possible way to do that is not to give your number to everyone.
Then, how will people contact you? Well, there are so many alternatives. One of the options is Google Voice. Google Voice will provide a secondary phone number tied to your primary digits. Through this number, you can easily send and receive calls and messages. In fact, you can do almost everything that your primary phone number allows you to do.
However, then also your new number might reach the scammers. In such cases, you can use paid services like DeleteMe to get your data deleted from shady sites and organisations.
Also read: Why Do Businesses Need A Software Developer?
